Demystifying the Taboo Surrounding Polar Bear Hunting Opportunities

August 29, 2023. An early fall day in the Arctic. We caught the bear on the beach just a couple miles from the village. About 80 yards away, my son-in-law Brad Jannenga knelt beside a stout boulder, then shot the bear carefully (and effectively) with his Heym .375 H&H. A few days earlier, we saw a smaller bear along the shoreline. Later, we found another bedded up on a rocky ridge far from the bay, out of the wind. The largest of the three, this third bear was not a giant, just a nice polar bear. My call would have been the same.

Texan Phil Bryant was in camp when we arrived. Phil shot his bear the day before Brad. He’d waited out some weather and also saw several bears before he made his decision.

Yes, you can still hunt the great white bear. Whether you wish to is your decision, but in Nunavut Territory, home to Canada’s Inuit, sport hunting works—for the people, and for the bears.

PROTECTED AND MANAGED

The polar bear is the apex predator of the Far North, shared by five nations surrounding the Arctic: Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Norway, Russia and the United States. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of threatened species considers the polar bear "Vulnerable", the least threatened status. Unlike most large predators on Earth, the ice bear still occupies almost all its original range. Population guesstimates range from 24,000 to 31,000 bears.

Around the top of the globe, the polar bear is officially protected, but is still hunted as food by indigenous peoples. In Canada and the U.S., indigenous communities harvest polar bears by community quota. Regardless of total numbers, Canada has far the largest population, thus the country has the biggest dog in the fight. The polar bear is Canada’s most-studied animal, with a current population estimated at 17,500 bears. Depending on high or low estimate, Canada holds either 56% or 73% of the world’s population of polar bears.

Only Canada allows sport hunting. Based on survey data, quotas are assigned to community Hunters and Trappers Organizations (HTOs). The current total quota in Nunavut is about 440 bears. That’s 2.5%, a number that wildlife science considers conservative and sustainable.

By community agreement, some of those permits can be signed over to visiting hunters, who then purchase a nonresident license and are accompanied by locals. Polar bear hunting thus means direct employment, a scarce commodity in remote communities. Also, the communities receive indirect revenue from food, lodging and all the rest.

Polar bear meat is highly prized by Canada’s Inuit. Community quotas are filled. There’s a difference: For local hunters, it’s a meat hunt. Smaller bears are often targeted because the meat is better. Visiting hunters usually look for the largest bear they can find.

The polar bear is king of the ice. Seals are primary prey, but any living animal is potential food. Infanticide and cannibalism are not uncommon. Big boars frequently kill cubs. The quota is sustainable anyway, but the taking of older, larger boars enhances cub survival. Since Canada started intensively studying their polar bears and instituted their current quota system, polar bear populations have increased, slowly but steadily.

So, we can hunt polar bears. It’s an expensive hunt, but that’s not unusual with highly prized animals. It’s also a difficult hunt. There are lots of bears, but widely scattered across a huge area. Fall hunts are done August through November, spring from February to March. Extreme cold is constant through the winter months, but the real problem in winter is lack of daylight.

THE SEAGOING BEAR

The real break is between “summer hunts” before freeze-up and hunts out on the ice. I took my one-and-only polar bear a few years ago on an April hunt, on the north tip of Baffin Island. Lots of daylight, endless ice and plenty cold. Visiting hunters travel by motorized conveyance, glassing and looking for tracks, but must take their bears on foot or by dogsled. Travel is thus by snow machine, boat or four-wheeler. In April, we traveled far out onto sea ice by snow machine, hauling sled dogs and a light dogsled to close on a bear.

Brad and I both had walrus hunts booked with Shane Black’s Canada North (www.canadanorthoutfitting.com). Black isn’t the only polar bear outfitter, but he’s been around the longest, and I’ve used him for all my hunts in Canada’s Arctic. With Nunavut reopened, Brad decided to add polar bear. I don’t need another bear, but the idea of a summer polar bear hunt intrigued me; I was delighted to tag along with Brad. So, in late August, we arrived at the remote village of Coral Harbour on the southern tip of Southampton Island.

The polar bear is Ursus maritimus, the seagoing bear. From freeze-up to thaw, they spend most of their time on sea ice, hunting seals along open leads. Strong and effortless swimmers, they travel across open water but, in summer, often go ashore. Dry-land hunting is almost needle-in-a-haystack, glassing for bears in empty land. However, absent snow, a white bear can be seen from miles. Often, they’re found along the shore or on islands but, as we discovered, they wander surprisingly far inland.

Phil Bryant’s team spotted his bear in rocky ridges the locals call “mountains,” stalked to 50 yards and shot the bear. Brad’s guide, Danny, found our second bear in the same mountains. Getting to him was an unexpected mini sheep hunt. It was a nice bear, but we passed on it. Brad shot his bear the next day on the shore of Hudson Bay.

SEIZING ON SUMMER

So, I’ve now “hunted” polar bear on ice and on land. Which is better? Summer hunting is more comfortable. The wind was chilly; the temps just above freezing. By comparison, I shot my bear on a balmy April day when the thermometer registered minus ten. It gets much colder. In August, instead of sleeping in a tent on the ice, we “camped” in a village hotel.

On this trip, we traveled many rough miles on quads. On smooth sea ice, snow machines can cover more ground, the hunter bouncing—but insulated—behind in a komatik (sled). Polar bears are widely dispersed, so covering ground is important.

Here’s the biggest difference I saw: On ice and snow, you’re looking for fresh tracks. Small tracks can be ignored. Find a big track, and that bear is pre-qualified. On land, a bear spotted must be stalked and judged, which takes effort and time.

Until now, the only polar bear I’ve seen was the bear I shot. It was a big bear. We knew that from his tracks. We bypassed smaller tracks, but when we found a big track we were in business.

On this summer hunt, we saw and passed bears. We didn’t freeze and the bear hunters got their bears. It was a marvelous experience. If I wanted a big bear, I think I’d suck it up and go out on the ice. I did that. Fortunately, I don’t have to do it again.

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